Runtime Form Designer (Magic xpa 3.x)
The Runtime Form Designer lets the end user:
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Move controls on the screen by dragging and dropping and by using the keyboard. The end user can even move controls from one tab to another.
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Resize the controls.
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Hide (and restore) controls.
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Change some of the controls' properties, such as Color and Font. The changes can be saved per each user or in a central location.
The following elements are provided to use the Runtime Form Designer:
Note:
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The data changed in the Runtime Designer is saved in XML files. Each form, as well as each subform, has its own XML file. You can see the location and name of the persistency file in the Configuration File form property.
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The changes are seen in the program after re-entering it, so the user needs to close and re-open the program in order to see the changes.
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For Combo Box, List Box, and Radio Button controls:
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The values seen will be the Runtime values from the control (and not the ones defined in the Studio).
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It is not possible to link a control to another value.
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It is possible to select a value in order to see the controls that are linked to this value. This is done using the arrow icon (as in the Studio). This is possible only in admin mode (according to the parameter sent to the event when starting the Runtime Designer).
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Hidden controls (Visible property set to False) will be seen only in admin mode (according to the parameter sent in the event that starts the Runtime Designer).
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The context menu's Reset to default option affects the current control only and not the child controls.
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If an expression is attached to one of the properties that are also defined in the Runtime Designer, then any changes in the Runtime Designer override the expression's result value.
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The Runtime Designer does not affect controls on a Table control. The Table control will appear as a rectangle without the columns.
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Controls attached to a table cannot be moved.
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It is not possible to move controls to the Table control.
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Controls cannot be moved between container controls.
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Changing the size of a container control will not change the child controls.
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Line controls cannot be moved.
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The Runtime Designer cannot be used on Batch or non-interactive Rich Client tasks.
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If a Subform control is set to Fit as Form, resizing will not affect the Runtime Designer.
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If a Subform control is defined as Refresh when hidden=False and the subform was not seen at runtime even once, the Runtime Designer will not show the subform task.
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You cannot resize the form.
If the form size was increased before the Runtime Designer was opened, then when decreasing the location or size of the control, it will not be possible to set the location or size of a control to a location or size that will be negative after reversed placement is done (compared to the original form size).
When a form is loaded at runtime, the relevant persistency file will be read from the persistency folder. If the persistency file contains information about the form then:
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The data of the form will be used instead of the Studio properties. If an expression was attached to a property that was changed by the user (Runtime Designer), then this expression will be ignored at runtime. (The user changes take precedence over the Studio value/expression.)
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If the form was changed and contains more controls than in the persistency file, then these controls will be seen as in the Studio (it will behave as if the values of the new controls are inherited).
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If the form was changed and contains less controls than in the persistency file, the new controls in the persistency files will be ignored.
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If the form was changed and a control was moved (it was first moved in the Runtime Designer and then moved in the Studio), this movement will not be seen at runtime (since the persistency file locations will be used).
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If the form was changed and a control was moved to a container or between containers, the persistency value will be considered as per the new container (which might lead to a wrong appearance).
